BETHLEHEM, Pa. — If there's any question about what has given rock group Shinedown the most Top 10 Rock hit songs in history, all the reasons were on display at Musikfest's main Steel Stage on Saturday.
In a rain-delayed concert of 16 songs in 97 minutes, the band put on a virtual master class on how to please fans, playing a breadth of hits from the band's 21 years, connecting with the crowd and putting on a display of staging, with explosions, fire and images on a big screen.
But it was the music that most showed how Shinedown connects. It not only ranged from soft acoustic to head-banging rock, but displayed commercial elements in all of them that showed Shinedown's music, stripped of its heavy sound, could easily work as radio pop.
"We'll do some old school tonight, we'll do some new school. We'll go all the way back to the start."Shinedown singer Brent Smith
"We'll do some old school tonight, we'll do some new school," singer Brent Smith told the sold-out crowd of more than 6,200 — amazing since the band also headlined Musikfest just three years ago. "We'll go all the way back to the start."
The opening song was "Devil," a 2018 gold hit, with its appropriate lyrics, "It's about to get heavy." And it did, with a loud pyro blast and flames on stage.
But the song showed that Shinedown method: It was forceful, but almost friendly.
'Play a long as they'll let us'
The second song, the 2010 gold hit "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)," was even better, and played with intensity — bassist Eric Bass leapt throughout the song and sparks showered from drummer Barry Kerch's set.
But it also had a mid-song acoustic interlude that made the song soaring and almost uplifting.
Smith's stage chatter was similarly uplifting: Before the 2015 gold hit "State of My Head," he thanked the crowd for its patience with a 90-minute delay in starting the show because of thunderstorms.
"Mother Nature, she had to do her thing. Thank you for the change sand staying around."Shinedown singer Brent Smith
"Mother Nature, she had to do her thing," Smith told the crowd. "Thank you for the change and staying around."
[Guitarist Zach Myers later told the crowd Musikfest called Bethlehem's mayor "and they pushed back the curfew till midnight ... we want to play as long as they'll let us." Musikfest spokeswoman Jennifer LoConte confirmed that the city extended the curfew for Steel Stage only.]
And yes, "State of My Head" is a hard-rock song, but it was accessible, too. The 2012 chart-topper "Unity" was even uplifting.
By that time (and maybe from the start) the crowd was in Shinedown's hands. When Smith told them to "put your hands in the air," the whole audience did.
And they sang loudly along to songs such as the 2003 platinum hit "45," played dramatically with the stage dark and backlit.
Smith also had the audience jump — and, again, they did — on "Enemies," which was heavy but hooky, chanty and thumping but accessible.
What makes Shinedown successful
One of the night's best was a largely acoustic version of the band's most recent hit, the 2023 chart-topper "A Symptom of Being Human," showing Shinedown is far from finished.
"Don't give up on each other. Be there for one another."Shinedown singer Brent Smith
Smith had the crowd lift their lighters and cell phones (and they did) for even more dramatic effect, and he implored them, "Don't give up on each other. Be there for one another," adding even more positivity.
The recent hit "Dead Don't Die," chanty and thumping, showed how hard Shinedown can rock, but even it was hooky.
Shinedown even played a two-song acoustic interlude, with guitarist Myers on vocals with Bass on a cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" (the fact that they pulled it off credibly was a testament to the band's talents) and Smith returning for its 2004 cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" with just Myers on acoustic that was almost ironic for not rocking.
[Shinedown clearly uses pre-recorded backing, including choral vocals, on some songs, but it always was in addition to its talent, not supplementing it.]
Maybe the night's best was the band's biggest hit, 2008's triple-platinum "Second Chance." It was the song that captured everything that makes Shinedown so successful.
Not every song was as successful — the title track to its recent "Planet Zero" album was undistinguished, but not bad. The 2009 hit "The Sound of Madness" was hard rock and also good, but not at the level of most of the other songs.
Still knows how to rock
Of course, with 20 songs that went to No. 1 — the most of any rock group — Shinedown was bound to miss some significant songs.
The group left unplayed at least four gold hits: "Save Me," "Devour," "The Crow and Butterfly" and last year's No. 1 hit "Daylight."
But reviews of recent shows online indicate the band didn't cut Saturday's show short because of the weather delay: It played the set it has been playing.
Shinedown closed the night with two rockers: the 2019 platinum hit "Monsters," with more flames on stage, and 2015's platinum "Cut the Cord," which was one of the night's hardest rockers.
That reminded the crowd that, while Shinedown knows many ways to please fans, it still knows how to rock.
Likely because of the long rain delay, opening act Stopgap Solution played just five songs in 19 minutes on stage.
It, too, had a sound that was accessible — even on the aggressive "Skeptic." But it was hard to judge the band on such a short set.
